According to The New York Times, most people agree that using fossil fuels is a bad thing for the environment. Fracking, oil spills, increases in global temperatures….the list of environmental ills associated with the overuse of fossil fuels goes on and on. A recent article in the Times, “Vacation in Rome? Or on That Oil Rig?” really got me thinking. The article starts out talking about the opportunities that the thousands of retirement-ready oil and gas drilling rigs present as new architectural opportunities. As an architect, my immediate thought was, “what a cool idea”; something old is new again. One of the ideas discussed was to convert them into windmill stations…even cooler. That is ironic; former fossil fuel rigs become platforms for renewable energy. The reality is that most oil rigs are being dropped to the ocean floor when they are obsolete. The oceans will be our next junk yard. Some scientists claim that they are great because they can be made into artificial reefs that can attract fish. That is just what I want to do — eat fish that is living in this new underwater urban neighborhood, eating off a plate of metal that is laced with oil residue.

Suzanne Sowinski is the founder and director of sustainable building at Sowinski Sullivan Architects, PC. She received her master’s degree in sustainable design over ten years ago. As a registered architect, she believes that the practice of architecture and the teaching of sustainable design are equally important in the 21st century.